Chapter 175
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: What's Going On?
The sword tip trembled.
And then, a feast of countless stars bloomed.
In the past, that would have been the end of it, but now things were different.
Thus, the stars blooming from the sword displayed a proud and majestic movement.
The Milky Way.
A Milky Way descended upon the training ground.
"Wow..."
Dan Mok Un-roe exclaimed in pure admiration.
"Hee-ya."
Dang Jin-san let out an exclamation of his own.
Yeon Ha-min and Ha Seol-ran watched with eyes aglow.
The Heavenly Star Milky Way Sword Method, unfolding for the first time on the Fierce Dragon Corps training ground.
On the ship returning to Muchang, he had already read the manual countless times.
The duel with Ha Mu-baek, the spar with Joo Si-un.
He had experienced them firsthand with his own body.
For the first time, he executed in reality what he had unfolded countless times in his mind.
It wasn't quite up to his expectations, but on his first real attempt, he had created a Milky Way.
"Not bad."
Ha Mu-baek offered a brief comment.
Joo Woo-myeong gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.
He had won against Baek Ri-pyeong in their last spar.
But with the next one looming, the thought of the unknown outcome made his hand clench instinctively.
With that, he completed the Heavenly Star Milky Way Sword Method.
He took a deep breath and sheathed his sword.
The Fierce Dragon Corps cadets rushed over to Baek Ri-pyeong.
"That was incredible."
Han Seol-bing exclaimed in genuine awe.
Ha Mu-baek simply nodded silently.
"It was like watching Elder Baek Ri-pyeong's sword."
She had fought alongside Baek Ri-pyeong's unit on the battlefield, after all, as a comrade-in-arms.
"He's still got a long way to go. Compared to that old man, he's barely taken his first steps."
A cold assessment.
But it was true.
"He's still young, though."
Han Seol-bing spoke up in Baek Ri-pyeong's defense.
"The battlefield doesn't care about age."
That was fact as well.
Han Seol-bing just pouted her lips.
After Baek Ri-pyeong's return, life in the Fierce Dragon Corps flowed smoothly as usual.
Train, eat, train, eat, train, sleep.
The same routine every day.
Ha Mu-baek occasionally came out to observe, and Han Seol-bing was always by their side.
The elderly Wei, who handled the cleaning, appeared more frequently than usual.
Well, the cadets of Squads Seven and Twenty in the Fierce Dragon Corps knew who he really was.
Not just some ordinary Dragon Training Pavilion worker, but the master of their monstrous instructor, Ha Mu-baek.
It was no surprise.
"Hmm... What in the world is going on here?"
Byeok Ryeok-gae pondered deeply over his subordinates' reports, furrowing his brow again and again.
It had been just ten days since Hyeong Ui-cheon arrived in Muchang.
Yet the Danan Merchant Group's momentum was like a raging torrent.
Already, one-tenth of Muchang's inns and taverns had fallen into their hands.
Tremendous financial power.
Inns and taverns were prime spots for beggars to beg.
Thus, the Beggar's Sect beggars quickly identified the ownership changes.
The new owners were all merchants from the Danan Merchant Group.
"I just can't figure out their goal."
Byeok Ryeok-gae frowned.
Why had they crossed into Hubei Province to stir up trouble in Muchang?
Well, the Dragon Training Pavilion wasn't the type to resort to violence to protect commercial districts like some unorthodox or black path group might.
"And they've got real force behind them too."
The Danan Merchant Group was well-equipped with martial artists as well. It wasn't called the Merchant Group Above All for nothing.
Thanks to that, the number of martial artists flooding into Muchang had surged.
These newcomers filled positions as guards in the Danan Merchant Group's inns and taverns.
Namgung Hwa-in was struggling desperately against them, but he was gradually being pushed back.
Because the Danan Merchant Group was pouring in absurd amounts of money.
"Tch."
Clicking his tongue, Byeok Ryeok-gae moved on to another report.
The man he'd been chasing for over a decade.
Still no trace of him.
He had deployed Beggar's Sect members across the land.
Even into Sa Hye-ryeon territory, without exception.
Yet not even a shadow of the man.
"Where the hell have you hidden? Gwang Hoe-cheon..."
The head of the Dan Mok Clan, childhood friend Dan Mok Cheon-seung.
He was the ugly son-in-law of Dan Mok Cheon-seung's niece.
And the one who had annihilated the Dan Mok Clan.
The traitor who sold them out to the Blood Cult.
With Dan Mok Un-hye freed from her heavenly punishment, it was time to devote everything to hunting him down.
But his whereabouts remained unknown.
It was utterly frustrating.
Even the Beggar's Sect, the world's greatest information network, couldn't find him.
Hyeong Ui-cheon read the reports from his subordinates with a satisfied expression.
"Pushing through with money is the surest way, after all."
He had seized one-tenth of Muchang's inns and taverns.
If they refused to sell, he offered more money.
If they still refused, even more.
Their refusals stemmed from insufficient offers. So, give them enough.
"This way, slowly take over all of Muchang's inns and taverns."
A smile crept across Hyeong Ui-cheon's lips.
After reviewing all the documents, he lumbered over to the window with his heavy frame.
His gaze outside fixed on Muchang's slums.
"So he left that place. Hoo. Good thing, actually. If he'd stayed, the beggars' eyes would have been a nuisance."
Seizing Muchang's commerce was important, but Hyeong Ui-cheon had something even more crucial.
Two reasons for advancing into Muchang.
"Hard to track you down. I worried he might have gotten there first in the meantime. But hiding away in the slums all these years? Impressive. Yeo Hwa."
Hyeong Ui-cheon murmured Dan Mok Un-roe's mother's name, a chilling smile on his face.
His eyes gleamed fiercely.
The sun was dipping low.
Dan Mok Un-roe left the Dragon Training Pavilion and headed home.
During the break period, he often commuted from home.
Time with family was precious.
Especially after moving to a new house.
The walk home was always enjoyable.
Soon, the house came into view.
Along the way, Dan Mok Un-roe tilted his head several times.
It was the usual path, but something felt off today.
Even after the move, beggars dotted the route to his house here and there.
He rarely saw Elder Bang, though.
Today, strangely unfamiliar faces appeared frequently.
He hadn't been using this road for long, but he knew most of the locals by sight.
'What's going on?'
With a small question in mind, Dan Mok Un-roe entered the house.
He brushed it off as nothing serious.
Life was still peaceful, after all.
Ha Mu-baek frowned.
He hadn't paid much attention when he first heard a merchant group had entered Muchang.
Merchants' business wasn't his concern.
But now, it grated on him.
'Danan Merchant Group, was it?'
They were stirring up Muchang everywhere. It had increased the number of presences his senses picked up, complicating things.
'Annoying.'
Since Ha Seol-ran arrived in Muchang, Ha Mu-baek had kept his senses extended across the entire city.
To prepare for any contingency.
He had mapped Muchang completely, but after the Zhongnan trip, everything was disrupted.
A massive influx of the merchant group's warriors.
Muchang was changing by the minute.
This forced him to focus even more on people's movements.
There was no guarantee none of the newcomers had ulterior motives.
The martial world seemed peaceful.
'But Blood Cult and Demonic Cult remnants are still out there.'
One had even hidden in the Haomen.
Zhongnan had luckily not been their scheme.
But that was frustrating in its own way.
Knowing prestigious sect leaders and heirs were such people.
Namgung Hwa-in kept tilting his head with a grave expression.
He had no choice.
The Danan Merchant Group had taken one-tenth of the inns and taverns.
But their revenue share was about one-third plus five-tenths.
Not even cherry-picking the best ones.
Average inns and brothels.
Yet after the Danan Merchant Group took over, sales skyrocketed in no time.
Not normal.
"They're definitely up to something shady... but I can't figure it out. Tch."
Namgung Hwa-in clicked his tongue.
No word yet from the subordinate sent to Jindang.
To uncover their goal, checking the headquarters was fastest, so he'd sent him.
"This is frustrating."
Namgung Hwa-in shot to his feet.
He'd investigate personally.
He passed through Jindang and headed out of the Dragon Training Pavilion.
Aiming for the hottest spot, he strode briskly.
His two escorts hurried after.
The destination on Muchang's outskirts demanded quick steps.
They arrived at the Moon Dragon Inn.
A massive four-story inn right before Moon Dragon Manor, incredibly spacious.
Built alongside Moon Dragon Manor's construction.
Post-meal hours should have been quiet, but the Moon Dragon Inn buzzed noisily.
The first floor was packed, almost no empty seats.
"Hmm."
Namgung Hwa-in sat at an empty spot and scanned the inn sharply.
On the surface, nothing unusual about the inn.
The waiter arrived promptly, service average.
Food the same.
Nothing exceptional or special.
Prices reasonable.
A bit cheap, but not enticing enough to trek to the outskirts for.
'Why...'
He couldn't fathom the secret to its popularity.
Puzzled, Namgung Hwa-in returned.
The next day.
He somewhat understood.
He was heading to the Moon Dragon Inn again.
Craving the thin noodles from his last visit. Nothing special, just ordinary fare.
'...Is this it?'
Poison.
Namgung Hwa-in decided to revisit the Moon Dragon Inn and packed several silver needles.
This couldn't be normal, no matter how he thought about it.
Something was tampered with in the food.
While eating, he discreetly tested bits of food with the needles.
He might excel more in commerce than martial arts, but he was still Namgung Clan blood, bearing the Namgung name.
Evading the waiter and chef's eyes was easy.
But the results were unexpected.
Clean.
No reaction from the needles.
Thus, he returned to the Dragon Training Pavilion empty-handed again.
"Hah. Why..."
The next day, luckily, he didn't crave the Moon Dragon Inn's food.
Nor the day after.
By then, Namgung Hwa-in thought it was just his imagination.
Probably some special recipe in the food.
However.
Four days later.
The Moon Dragon Inn's food haunted his thoughts madly again.
Dumplings this time.
On his second visit, he'd ordered dumplings with the thin noodles to test them.
Namgung Hwa-in frowned.
Not imagination.
"What trick did they pull? Hmm."
He drummed the desk, lost in thought.
No special answers came.
"Guess I have to watch and wait."
Though he craved it insanely, he resisted with superhuman willpower and skipped the Moon Dragon Inn that day.
Instead, he devoured three plates of dumplings at the Devouring Dragon North Pavilion.
Eating voraciously.
Unbeknownst to him, unusually many others were eating dumplings too.
Ha Mu-baek, arriving for dinner at the Devouring Dragon North Pavilion, noticed.
Not just one or two scarfing down plates of dumplings—it was impossible to miss.
"What?"
Ha Mu-baek tilted his head at the oddity.
"They say the dumplings at this place called Moon Dragon Inn are that amazing."
Chef Jo placed a steaming plate of pork dumplings on the table as he spoke.
"Moon Dragon Inn?"
Ha Mu-baek asked Chef Jo.
"It's run by the Danan Merchant Group that just entered Muchang. Inn is Moon Dragon Inn, brothel is Moon Dragon Tower. They name them all like that. Though they say they distinguish with numbers."
"Are their dumplings that good?"
At Ha Mu-baek's question, Chef Jo tilted his head.
"Not sure. Our waiter tried them once and said nothing special. Actually, claimed mine are tastier."
Ha Mu-baek nodded in agreement.
Chef Jo was genuinely skilled.
"But today, folks went to Moon Dragon Inn for dumplings. Seems those here today have reasons preventing them from going."
Chef Jo smiled wryly, a hint of disappointment.
"Guess their waiter has strange tastes."
"Must be some secret recipe I don't know. So, I'm planning to check it out next day off. Moon Dragon Inn is the main branch, right in front of Moon Dragon Manor where the Danan Merchant Group's leader stays."
"Is that so? Then let's go together. I'm free these days too."
"Sounds good. Oh, weird thing, though. A few days ago, everyone was raving about their thin noodles, ordering only those."
Chef Jo said, tilting his head.